'Insulting': North Korea hits out at US for call to enforce sanctions

'North Korea has denounced US calls for international sanctions to be enforced despite Pyongyang’s goodwill moves, saying progress on denuclearisation cannot be expected if Washington follows an “outdated acting script”.

North Korea’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that Pyongyang had stopped nuclear and missile tests, dismantled a nuclear test ground and returned the remains of US soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean war. Yet Washington was still insisting on “denuclearisation first” and had “responded to our expectation by inciting international sanctions and pressure”.

“As long as the US denies even the basic decorum for its dialogue partner and clings to the outdated acting script which the previous administrations have all tried and failed, one cannot expect any progress in the implementation of the DPRK-US joint statement including the denuclearisation,” the ministry said.

The statement on the KCNA state news agency said North Korea, which calls itself the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, was still willing to implement a broad agreement made at a landmark 12 June summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

But it accused unidentified high-level US officials of “going against the intention of President Trump” by “making baseless allegations against us and making desperate attempts at intensifying the international sanctions and pressure”.

It said “expecting any result, while insulting the dialogue partner” was “a foolish act that amounts to waiting to see a boiled egg hatch out”.'